An assessment of Norse mythology and Scandinavian culture in light of gender equality

Abstract

In this dissertation, I seek to understand Norse Mythology and the Scandinavian culture in the Viking age i.e. from the 8th century till the 11th century C.E. This is so as to shed light on the topic of Gender Equality. To achieve this, I outline Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792) so as to talk about the importance of education for boys and girls. I also outline the main points of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949) so as to illustrate the importance of transcending, so as women can choose to live in any way they fulfil their selfworth. Then, I link this to Michel Foucault’s History of Sexuality (1976) to highlight what was meant by sexuality throughout different eras. Subsequently, these texts are linked to Scandinavian rituals, which include marital and burial traditions, which allow the comprehension of roles, that of Norse men and Norse women. Lastly, the question whether religion or mythology helps or hinders Gender Equality is asked and the given answer is that for a society to progress on the notion of Gender Equality society has to improve, on the norms that religion or mythology brings with it.